Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Kristen Kluska believes Abeona Therapeutics' plans to sell common shares will lessen the takeover chatter in the name for the time being. The analyst expects the shares to be down on last night's financing news, as she thinks investors will assume that an acquisition is less likely to happen at this time. Kluska is bullish on gene therapy, but given the "significant late-stage competition" for Abeona's lead programs, her thesis is that a partnership from the earlier-stage pipeline is more likely to happen. With that said, the analyst does not believe a proposed offering necessarily means a takeover is off the table. She views the financing as instrumental for Abeona and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares with a $4 price target.

After Abeona Therapeutics received a Complete Response Letter, or CRL, from the FDA for pz-cel in recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, or RDEB, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Kristen Kluska called the news "a punch to the gut," but added that it is "not the end of the road," telling investors that it was known that manufacturing was the biggest risk heading into this FDA decision. The firm, which says its initial worst-case scenario was that there would be a PDUFA delay versus an outright CRL, still sees a path towards approval for pz-cel and contends that the 50% stock move after markets suggesting a valuation of about $100M was "overdone." The firm has an Overweight rating and $36 price target on Abeona shares.

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